’Unless garages prioritise training, there will be a shortfall in the number of technicians to service electric and hybrid vehicles,’’ says Dasos Michaelides, Autotech Training’s Head of Business Development. The popularity of EVs across the UK is growing with 315,000 new EVs sold last year, some 50,000 more than in 2022. This surge underscores a massive opportunity for the independent sector as the owners of these vehicles increasingly turn to their local garage for repair and maintenance work.
The starting point for any vehicle technician is a Level 2 qualification, which is designed for those who will encounter electric/hybrid vehicles within a routine maintenance situation. It also contains the knowledge and skills required to work safely around a vehicle that may have had damage to its high energy/electrical system.
The next stage, Level 3, equips the technician with the knowledge of how the electrical circuits of an EV operate, and how the high voltage and low voltage circuits interact with each other, while Level 4 teaches how to carry out repairs on live, high voltage vehicles and focuses on the in-depth diagnostic systems within an EV.
The AA Training Academy Powered by Autotech Training delivers IMI accredited Levels 1-4 Electric/Hybrid Vehicle training from either its dedicated electric vehicle training suite in Dublin, or on the premises of any garage or business in Northern Ireland.
